作者：Timothy W. Massaro
譯者：駱鴻銘
聖經是很奇特的書。聖經裏記載的事件離我們實在太遙遠了，就好像是過去發生在外太空的事情一樣。讀聖經就像是在讀關於外星人和外星文化的故事。我們必須在作者的時空背景下，來解讀作者所想要傳達的內容，才能明白它和我們今天有什麼樣的關聯。The Bible is strange. The events in the Bible
are so far removed from us that they might as well have happened in outer
space. Reading the Bible can feel like reading about an alien race and culture.
We need to interpret what the authors were communicating in their time and
place to see how relevant it is for us now.
上帝同時向我們的心和我們的五官說話，宣揚祂自己。詩篇十九篇第1節說：「諸天述說神的榮耀；穹蒼傳揚他的手段。」不過，有些事情不是大自然可以告訴我們的。聖經告訴我們的事情，是除非藉著聖經、否則我們就無法明白的事，那就是上帝在真實歷史裏所完成的救贖大工。God proclaims himself to our hearts and our
senses. Psalm 19:1 says, “The
heavens proclaim the glory of God; the sky above declares His handiwork.” And
yet, there is something nature cannot tell us. What the Bible is telling us
about is something we could not know otherwise, namely, God’s redemption that
he has accomplished in real history.
讀任何一本書，我們都必須按照其語境來認識書中的內容。聖經也不例外。要成為聖經的好學生、好讀者，我們必須注意聖經寫作時的各種背景。聖經裏的一些生活方式和觀念，對今天的人來說似乎是很陌生、很另類的。我們要如何才能理解對宇宙的看法和我們大異其趣的古代人呢？上帝使用了來自那個時代的比喻和圖景，上帝的話是否就不是真理了呢？When we read any book, we have to understand
what is being said in its context. The Bible is no different. To be good
students and readers of the Bible, we must pay attention to the various
contexts in which it was written. We find a host of practices and ideas of life
that seem foreign and alien to what seems normal today. How do we make sense of
these ancient peoples whose vision of the universe was so different from ours?
Is God’s Word untrue, since it uses analogies and images from that time?
古代的基督徒曾經指出，上帝屈尊向我們說話，就像父母對孩童說話一樣。上帝不是以一種有失尊嚴的方式屈尊自己，而是出於祂對百姓的愛和眷顧，按照他們的能力對他們說話。當祂向一時、一地的人說話時，就用當時、當地的語言，來配合我們。Christians from the past have pointed out that God
condescends to speak to us like a parent to a child. God is not condescending
in a demeaning way, but he speaks according to the ability of his people out of
his love and care for them. He uses the language of the times and places in
which he is speaking to accommodate us.
聖經作者是用一般人的語言來說話的。這些作者用他們的母語來寫作，包括希伯來文、亞蘭文、希臘文。他們用當時當地的文化風俗來寫作。這些作者採用了他們的生活世界裏的文化思想。聖經的宇宙觀（對宇宙的看法）是取自古代近東世界的。The authors of the Bible spoke in the language
of the common people. These authors wrote in their native language, whether it
was Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. They used the cultural conventions of their
times and places. These authors assumed the cultural thought world in which
they lived. The Bible’s cosmology (i.e., vision of the universe) is taken from
the ancient Near Eastern world.
透過聖經的書頁，上帝使用圖景和畫面，使我們更全面地認識祂是誰、祂所成就的工作，以及祂還要作什麼來拯救我們。使用人能夠明白的圖示（illustrations），並非不誠實，倒不如說是很實際。當耶穌降生在古代世界裏，祂就使用他們日常生活裏的圖景和比喻。上帝使用各種不同的文體和當時、當地特有的說話方式，來調和祂的語言，配合人類的習俗。Through the pages of Scripture, God uses images
and pictures to give us a fuller vision of who he is, what he has done, and
what he will do to save us. Using illustrations people will understand is not
being dishonest. God is rather realistic. When Jesus came into the ancient
world, he used images and metaphors from their day-to-day affairs. God
accommodated his language to human conventions, using genres and ways of
speaking that were common to the unique time and place of people.
到聖經裏去找我們所熟悉的問題的答案，對今天的人來說，是非常普遍的現象。但是我們若期望聖經能成為我們的生活教練，揭示出科學的奧秘，甚至告訴我們如何從事政治，我們就會經常感到失望。聖經的主要任務是證明上帝如何在真實的歷史裏工作，以拯救我們。一旦我們明白這點，聖經如何應用在我們今天的生活裏，才會變得更清晰。It is common for people today to look for answers to
the kinds of questions that we are familiar with. If we are looking for the
Bible to be our life coach, unveil the secrets of science, or even tell us how
to practice politics, it will constantly disappoint us. The Bible’s primary job
is to demonstrate how God is working in real history for our redemption. Once
we see this, how it applies to our lives today will come into better focus.
上帝的永生兒子道成肉身，住在我們中間（約一14），不是為了回答人生一切的問題，而是要解救我們脫離罪惡、死亡、地獄。聖經是對耶穌所作的滿有權威的見證，因為聖經是代表耶穌自己，對祂具體的救贖工作，作出見證（約五39～40）。倘若我們耐心地按照聖經的背景來讀，這點就會變成十分清晰。The eternal Son of God condescended to dwell
among us (John 1:14), not to answer all of life’s questions, but to redeem us from sin, death, and
hell. Scripture, which is an eyewitness testimony to Jesus, is authoritative
because it testifies on his behalf concerning his specific work of redemption
(John 5:39–40). This is clear if we have the patience to read the Bible in its
context.